Rogelio's
Mere blocks away from the Hotel Del Rio and Casino, Rogelio's is situated in the middle of the "ghost town" part of Isleton, formerly the center of town. Most of the buildings in this area are Gold Rush era, and many are boarded up and abandoned, but there are a few antique shops and a gas station still in operation. This part of "Main Street" is not on the main street (Highway 160) that passes through town a few blocks west: instead, it's a weird backwater area of town that looks more like a stage set for a wild west movie than a real town. Rogelio's is a bar/restaurant/inn/casino with just a few poker tables inside in the back. Once, when I visited, it was closed for the 4th of July holiday (yes, the entire business, inn and all, was closed on a holiday), so I didn't get to see inside or play there. When I revisited the town in late August, Rogelio's was open, but wasn't spreading poker - at 9pm on a Saturday night. "There weren't enough players; only 4 or 5 people showed up at 6", said the bartender. "Try the Del Rio down the street". Third time was the charm, and I finally entered one of their tournaments and played in one of their cash games. OK. Clearly poker is a secondary sideline here, since they sometimes can't get a game going on a Saturday night. Call ahead during poker hours (between 6 and 7pm any night) to find out if a game is going on. If you call in the afternoon, like I did, they'll just tell you that poker will start at 6, or 5 on weekends. Once going, though, the game will tend to stick as long as enough players are around. Their hotel flyer says they will keep the game going 24 hours straight if enough players are playing. Note: after 9:00pm, the restaurant up front closes, but the game may still be going. If it is, and you want to join it, "come around back and check the gate", as they say on their flyer. Games Game Character: Unknown. Posting: Unknown. Shuffling: All hand shuffled. Wait Time: Extremely variable. If there's a free seat at the one table that's usually running, sit right down - otherwise you might have to wait an hour or more until someone decides to leave. Tournaments All tournaments are small and usually only get one full table (though sometimes two). Tournaments pay top 3 players for one table, top four for two tables. All winners must play in a subsequent cash game for an hour to lay claim to the cash added to the prize pools. * Wed 6pm: NLHE $5 buyin, no rebuys. $200 added to prize pool * Thu 6pm: NLHE $20 buyin, no rebuys. $200 added to prize pool * Sat 5pm: NLHE $25 buyin, no rebuys. $100 added to prize pool. All players receive coupon for $20 in free chips during subsequent cash game * Sun 5pm: NLHE $15 buyin, no rebuys. $100 added to prize pool. All players receive coupon for $20 in free chips during subsequent cash game Jackpots and Promotions They hand out free chips to people in their tournaments (sometimes winners only, sometimes all players - see tournament listings above), and those chips are good if you agree to stay and play in the cash game for an hour afterwards. No jackpots. Atmosphere Unknown. Neighborhood: The "ghost town" neighborhood where Rogelio's stands proudly is fairly quiet and only slightly eerie, like a Twilight Zone episode where a neutron bomb has gone off and the lone survivor is looking for a drink. You're at no risk of being robbed or mobbed, since nobody is walking the streets, but there's also no real businesses within a block or two. Then again, Isleton is really small -- you're only four or five blocks walking distance from the Hotel Del Rio and the other businesses in town, and only about two blocks from the start of the residential area where all the people live. Parking: Plenty of parking right on the street. There's nothing else here. Tables and Chairs: unknown. Service and Comps Seated players get half price discounts on all food from their menu (and they roll up a table so you can eat while you play). Poker players also get a special room rate at their inn upstairs (the stairway that leads up to the hotel rooms leads right down directly into the poker room at the back of the hotel). All their food is quite good; the type of food you would typically find in a smalltown "family restaurant", not typical poker room fare. Full Italian dishes, Mexican, Chinese, and American cuisine, all with healthy portions and quite tasty. At half price, the food is a great bargain. Links and Notes * MarkT tried to visit on July 4 and on Aug 26, 2006, then succeeded in summer 2007. * Closest competitor is Hotel Del Rio and Casino a couple blocks away, and then there's Kelly's Casino down in Antioch.